Elizabeth a



(No Model.)

E. A. TAYLOR.

FRUIT JAR.

Patented Sept. 8,-1885.

Invenfnr:

, vertical section of the fruit-jar.

UNITED STATES P TENT OFFICE.

ELIZABETH A TAYLOR, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

FRUIT-JAR. I

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 325,877, dated September 8, 1885.

Application filed June 12, 1885.

(No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ELIZABETH A. TAYLOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have in vented certain new and useful Improvements in Fruit-Jars, of which the. following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved fruitjar, and will first be described, and then designated in the claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a Fig. 2 is a side view of the jar. Fig. 3 is a plan of the top plate without the springs. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the top plate and springs. Fig. 5 isa side view of the top plate and springs and neck of the jar, showing how the top plate is placed in position.

The fruitjar A is made of glass, and has a neck, B, which is provided with an internal annular shoulder, o, and a top or cover, D, which sets within the neck and rests uponthe internal annular shoulder, and, as shown, projects upward beyond the mouth of the jar. To insure an air-tight fit, a rubber ring, 6, is interposed between the internal shoulder and the cover. The external side of the jar-neck is straight and forms a perpendicular wall, f, at the baseof which is an annular groove, g, with an angular or square undercut edge.

A metal top plate, H, has a circular form, or may be ring-shaped, as shown in the drawings. This top plate may be made of castiron malleabl'eized, or may be stamped out of sheet metal thick enough to give the plate the desired stiffness. In size the circular top plate should be equal to the size of the neck of the jar, and the plate is provided with spring-hooks I, which extend down the perpendicular wall of the neck. This shank part of the hook is flexible and yields in a lateral direction.

The hook is at the lower end of each laterall y-yielding spring enters the annular groove 9 and engages with the square undercut edge thereof. In the present instance,and preferably, the hook on each spring is formed by coiling the end of the spring inward, but leaving the coil open-that is, theend of the coiled part is unsupported. The coiled hook thereby itself constitutes aspring which yields slightly in a vertical direction. This feature is importantin afruit-jar top, as thereby the cover is held down by a strong elastic compressionan advantage not afforded by the springhooks heretofore used.

The spring-hooks I may be attached to the topplate, H, in anysuitable manner. In the present instance the top plate has notches or gains 1 on its rim, and each spring-hook has its upper end bent to a right angle, Z, which rests on the upper surface of the top plate and is riveted thereto, while the downwardextending part of the hook just below the bent end occupies a notch or gain on the rim. By this construction the shank of the springhook is readily secured to the top plate and prevented from moving sidewise. Either three or' four spring-hooks may be used.

Tov apply the top-to the jar it is first necessary to place the rubber ring e upon the internal shoulder, a,- then the cover D, which may be glass, porcelain, wood, cork, or metal, is placed within the neck of the jar and rests upon the internal ring. The top plate, H, is then placed in position, as shown in Fig. 5,

by pressing it down on the top of the cover,

with the spring-hooks I surrounding the jarneck and spread laterally while they pass down the straight external wall, f. When the inward coiled hooks k reach the undercut edge of the annular groove 9 in the jar-neck, they will enter said groove by a side pressure being brought against them. The slight vertical yield of the coiled end of the hook will favor this, and with the yield of the rubber ring will insure the cover to fit air-tight.

In order to remove the cover, one of the springs must be pressed outward to release it from the annular groove. The top plate may then be lifted off.

I am aware that covers have heretofore been retained on fruit-jars and stoppers in bottles by a holder having hooks provided with flexibleshanks. Ido not, therefore, claim such a device, broadly, but base my claims on the. novel feature of construction herein described.

Having described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States-- having notches or gains 1 on its rim, and 15 hooks, each having a flexible shank with its upper end bent and forming a right-ang1e part, Z, which rests on the upper surface of the said top plate andissecured thereto,whi1e the downward-extending part occupies one 20 of the said notches or gains, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

ELIZABETH A. TAYLOR.

Witnesses:

JNo. T. MADnoX, CHAS. B. MANN. 

